Splashing, dashing and thrashing – a frolicking seal delighted lucky Melburnians with a spectacle in the Yarra River on Friday morning.

The sea mammal plunged out of the water near Princes Bridge about 9am and lunged at a seagull flying close to the river’s surface.

“It was just coming and thrashing the seagull around, obviously trying to kill it,” said Liam Runnalls, an Age crossword writer (or cruciverbalist) who captured the incident on video.

“I was walking on the north side of the river, and I saw something jump out of the water and grab a seagull. It happened pretty quickly.

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“I stopped and stared and thought maybe I’d seen something else, but all the other seagulls were swooping down around that area, and I thought it must be a seagull and then it popped its head out again.”

Although seal sightings in the Yarra River are unusual, they're not unknown.

The most famous seal that had taken up permanent residence in the waterway was Salvatore – a 200-kilogram fur seal with distinct marks on his neck that was often seen near the Salvation Army building in Richmond.